


Lives Flipped Upside Down

by afteriwake



Series: Where The Wild Ones Are [11]
Category: Sherlock (TV), St Trinian's (2007 2009)
Genre: Case Fic, Developing Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Established Annabelle Fritton/Kelly Jones, F/F, F/M, Gen, Mentor Sherlock, Mycroft IS the British Government, Mycroft's Meddling, POV Sherlock Holmes, Poor Annabelle, Sherlock Being Sherlock, Sherlock Has A Crush, Sherlock Holmes Has a Heart, Sherlock Is A Bit Not Good, Sherlock-centric, Spy Kelly, St. Trinian's School, Tough choices, determined Molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 22:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock braves going back to St. Trinian's to get Kelly's help with a case. During the course of the case Sherlock finds a young girl to mentor, Kelly has to return to the life she gave up and Annabelle has to make a choice as to just how far she will go to keep her girls safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aaronlisa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaronlisa/gifts).



> So Aaronlisa gave me the rather vague prompt of Sherlock consulting Kelly for a case and this is what came of it. I don't know if this is what you expected, dear, but I hope you like it.
> 
>  **EDIT:** As of July 2016, this fic was completed for WIP Big Bang, and it was given art by the amazing **kuwlshadow** for it! The art can be found at the link below at Livejournal or alternatively [here](http://kuwlshadow.tumblr.com/post/147146288743/title-lives-flipped-upside-down-author) at Tumblr. Thank you so much! I absolutely love it.
> 
> [ ](http://kuwlshadow.livejournal.com/41753.html)

He got out of the cab and looked at the very long driveway. He had vowed never to come back here, after the reception he had gotten last time. But he needed Kelly's help, and Kelly couldn't come to London at the moment so he had to go to her. He was doing this alone because John had other business to attend to with a patient who needed to be hospitalized. It was a fairly serious case, and he had said that as much as he would love to see his sister he just couldn't leave. He could handle the girls without John, he thought to himself. Or at least he hoped he could.

He took a deep breath and began walking towards St. Trinian's, keeping an eye out for the First Year girl he knew would be near the beginning of the driveway. Kelly had said it was safe for him, but he was fairly sure not all the girls had forgiven him for what he had planned on doing the last time he was here. He spotted her a few yards in. It was a different girl than last time, he thought. He cleared his throat and she lowered her binoculars. “What's your business here?” she asked.

“I need to speak with Miss Jones about a private matter involving her old post in the government. She's expecting me.”

“You're that Sherlock bloke, aren't you?” she asked after a moment.

“Yes,” he said.

“We did a number on you last time you were here. Are you going to try and send Flash Harry to jail again?”

He shook his head. “As much as I disapprove of what he does, Miss Fritton and I have come to an understanding about him. But the matter I need to speak with Miss Jones about is most urgent.”

She hesitated a moment, then got on her radio. “Hey, are we supposed to allow Sherlock Holmes to get into the school?” she asked.

It beeped. “Yeah. Miss Fritton would punish us if we hurt him. He's her friend now,” another girl said in reply. Sherlock smiled slightly. It was good to know Annabelle considered him a friend. “Let him through.”

“Got it,” the girl in the tree said. Then she looked back at Sherlock. “Go ahead and go. No one's going to touch you.”

He inclined her head towards her. “Thank you,” he said. He began to walk down the driveway.

“Hey, wait a minute!” the girl said, scrambling down from the tree. He stopped, slightly wary. She ran over to him. “An escort will keep them from bothering you. As long as I come right back no one's going to try and get the better of us.”

“Very well,” he said with a nod. He began to walk, and she tried her best to keep up. After a moment he slowed his pace. “What's your name?”

“Katarina,” she said, looking at him. “I'm a First Year here. I'm kind of the class runt.”

He looked down at her. Yes, she did seem a little short and scrawny, he supposed. “I was scrawny when I was your age,” he said. “I used to get picked on for it.”

“You seem like the type of bloke no one would mess with,” she said.

“I am now. I wasn't then. I was in at least three fights a week,” he said. “My brother finally decided to teach me how to fight back, and then the fights stopped. It's one thing to pick on a runt who can't fight back. It's quite another to fight one who can break your nose.”

She grinned at him. “I like the idea of being able to do that to some git who isn't expecting it.”

“Boxing would be a good start. There are female boxers. Or if you have more strength in your legs, you should try kickboxing.”

“Maybe I'll look into it.” She looked up at one of the trees and gave a thumbs up in that direction. He glanced that way and saw a few leaves being pulled away. “Some of the First Years don't listen to the twins. They're leaving next year, and their number two can't handle the first years who don't obey.”

“Do you obey?” he asked.

“I do, with the stuff that makes sense. I'm not really as much of a hellion as some of the other girls here are. I think when I get older I'd like to be a geek. I like computers a lot. I can hack into just about any database.”

Sherlock was only slightly surprised, more by her age than by the fact that she could do it. “Why aren't you part of that clique now?”

“They don't want First Years. We're security,” she said with a shrug. “That's all they think we're good for.”

He remembered that Molly was a mentor to one of the other students here, a girl who didn't quite fit in. He thought about it for a moment more. This must be the same girl. “I am very skilled at computers and hacking into things. When I see fit I'm able to hack into things like phones to send mass text messages to people whose numbers I do not have.”

“That's pretty cool,” she said, giving him a grin. “You're a bloke after my own heart.”

He found himself grinning at her. On a person by person basis, he had the feeling he'd learn that, while wild, the girls here were not bad people. “Would you like to learn how to do it?”

“I'd love to!” she said her eyes wide.

“Very well. For getting me to the school safely, I'll show you before I leave.”

“That's awesome,” she said, giving a thumbs up to her other side as they walked. “No one here takes an interest in me.”

“Perhaps they should,” he said. To tell the truth, he could always stand to learn from people more knowledgeable. He had been trying to solve complicated cases when he was eight; he knew age was not a limitation for knowledge. “Why are you here?”

“My parents found out what I was doing. They panicked even though there was no chance I'd get caught, and they said I was a bad seed so they sent me here first chance they got,” she said with a shrug. “Didn't want me to be a bad influence on my brother and sister, they said.”

He knew what it felt like to have your family want to distance themselves. He had known from an early age that he was only Mycroft's half-brother, and while his mother had loved him neither Mycroft nor the man he considered his father had allowed themselves to get close. It had been a great relief when Mycroft's father had died, and Mycroft had decided to try and salvage some sort of relationship with him before he killed himself doing drugs. His childhood through early adulthood had been full of isolation, so he could relate to her well. “It doesn't always get better, or even easier, but when you are grown you can pick your own family. Miss Fritton and Miss Jones were able to do that here. Perhaps you will get to do the same.”

“I hope so,” she said. “Do you have your own family you picked out for yourself?”

“I do,” he said with a nod. “Miss Fritton's stepbrother is my flatmate. He considers me family. And then there's Molly Hooper and Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson. I consider them close enough to be family. I also have a brother, but he and I do not have the nicest of relationships all the time.”

“Older brothers are supposed to protect their younger brothers,” she said matter-of-factly.

“He does, but I usually resent it,” he said with a grin. “He works for the government so his way of protecting me involves a lot of surveillance and some outright threats. And bribes. He tried to bribe John to spy on me when we first began to live together.” She frowned slightly in confusion. “Mr. Watson.”

“Oh,” Katarina said with a grin as she gave another thumbs up to an unseen girl. “Mr. Watson seems really nice. He didn't do it, did he?”

“No, he did not. I actually told him at the time that he should have, though, and then we could have split the money.”

“I would have done it, but only if you told me to,” she said. “It would be nice to have a bit of pocket change.”

“I can imagine. I used to feel the same way when I was at school.”

“You were sent away, too?”

He nodded. “My father didn't want me around. He sent me away every year he could, to any school that would take me. I wore out my welcome after a year at most schools.”

“Were you a bad student?” she asked.

“No, but I always made everyone very uncomfortable, and I got into fights. My father would have to pay extra for them to keep me, but by the end of the year it would get to be too much and I was asked not to return.”

“If you were a girl you would have fit in well here,” she said with a nod.

“I suppose I would have.”

“What do you do now?” she asked. “I mean, I know you're a copper of some sort, but not really.”

“I'm a consulting detective,” he said. She had to be too young to have paid attention when he jumped off the roof at St. Bart's, when there was a huge scandal associated with him. It was actually nice to have a conversation about what he did without that taint. “Basically I assist Scotland Yard with very challenging cases. Mr. Watson is my assistant. He writes a blog about our cases. It is still quite popular.”

“Maybe one day I'll read it,” she said. “What kind of cases do you solve?”

“Usually homicides. Sometimes other cases, but most of the most challenging cases involve murder.”

“What's the most interesting case you've had?” she asked.

“Probably the one that involved a government testing facility. Or possibly the one that involved Chinese assassins. There have been quite a few.”

“I'd love to hear more,” she said.

He looked down the driveway. They had a ways to go, so he could afford to tell her in detail. He talked about Henry Knight and Baskerville, and she asked questions. By the time they got to St. Trinian's he had just finished, and he saw Kelly was waiting for him at the doors. “If you are still around when I have concluded my business with Miss Jones, I can tell you more about what I do,” he said. “And I still need to show you how to hack into phones as thanks.”

“Sure thing,” Katarina said with a grin. She turned to Kelly. “I got him here in one piece.”

“So I see,” Kelly said with a smile. “It's almost time for supper. I'll have the twins send someone else to the front. This shouldn't take very long, and then Mr. Holmes can do what he promised and talk to you some more.”

She nodded, then waved at Sherlock. “Bye, Sherlock!”

He nodded towards her and then she dashed into the school. Kelly's gaze followed her. “I see you made a friend,” she said when she turned back to Sherlock.

“I believe I did,” he said with a slight grin. “She is a very interesting girl.”

“She'd probably do well to have a friend while she's here,” Kelly said as she went inside the school. He followed her in. “She's really quite smart. It would be good for her to channel it into something productive. And you can also have her teach you a bit about computer hacking, if there's anything you don't know.”

“The thought had crossed my mind.” He followed her to Annabelle's office. “If she could develop her deductive reasoning skills I think she might make a competent consulting detective when she's older.”

“I'm sure if anyone here can do it it's you,” Kelly said with a slight chuckle. “And it would be good for her, I think. She really doesn't belong here. We worried about her, but if you mentor her, maybe we won't need to worry as much.”

“So long as no one tries to attack me I could make more visits here,” he said slowly.

“You're safe here,” she said as they got to Annabelle's office. Kelly opened the door. “Annabelle's out at the moment so we have the office to ourselves in case it needs to be kept confidential.” Sherlock came in and she shut the door behind them. “Do you need my MI-6 connections for this case?”

He nodded, and she gestured to the chairs in front of Annabelle's desk. There was a tea service on her desk, and as he sat down in one of the chairs Kelly went to it and served them both a cup of tea. She handed Sherlock his before taking her own and sitting across from him. “Mycroft has said there is someone in MI-6 who might be rogue. He thought I as an outsider could figure out if that's the case, but I cannot get anyone to acknowledge MI-6 exists, much less give me the information I need. Are your contacts there still good?”

She nodded. “While I have more or less resigned I still have my security clearance. My superiors thought it would be good to let me keep it in case my particular skill set is needed, as I told them I will do occasional work.”

“Good.” Sherlock settled into his chair. “Let me go over the particulars and you can fill me in on what you know and what I should be looking for.” And with that, they got to work.


	2. Chapter 2

Three hours later the conversation was winding down. Annabelle had come in at one point, heard them deep in discussion, and turned around and left without a word. Now Kelly was pacing to the side of the chairs. “So there is no one else it could be?” Sherlock asked.

Kelly shook her head. “No, no one else. If it is him I may need to go back for a while.” She stopped pacing, then sat back down. “It's a hard life, working for them. I like what I have now a lot more, but if it is Clement that's going to leave a noticeable void. It will need to be filled.”

“Perhaps it will be temporary,” Sherlock said.

“It better be,” she said quietly. Then she sighed. “How much of this am I allowed to tell Belle?”

“As little as possible, if you can help it. If he really is rogue he will know Annabelle and this school are your weaknesses. If you do get involved there may be retribution.”

“He tries to do anything to the girls here they may scare him off before it gets serious. But I don't want to see any of them hurt. And I don't want Belle to get hurt.”

“Then avoid getting involved until after I have followed up on the leads you have given me. If you need to get involved then it may very well be after the fact.”

“I hope so,” Kelly said with a nod. She looked at the clock on Annabelle's desk. “We've been at this three hours now, and there's still more we need to go over. How late can you stay?”

“Quite late,” he said. “I hadn't planned on staying overnight but I can if I must. It shouldn't be hard to find a place to stay the night.”

“You could always stay with the teachers,” she said. “The girls stay out of there, and there's a spare room open. I know you don't sleep much, so we can work until one of us threatens to drop from exhaustion. But seeing as how we skipped supper I think we should take a break and eat, and I should find Katarina and tell her that your lesson will have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Very well,” he said with a nod. “But do let her know I will do it before I leave. I am not the type to break promises.”

Kelly smiled at him. “No, you're not.” She stood up. “I'll go take care of that. Make yourself comfortable, Sherlock. We're in for a long night.” And with that she headed towards the door.

Sherlock watched her go, then turned back to his own thoughts. He had hoped things would not take the turn they had, because he did not want to disrupt Kelly's life here, but this was a matter of emergency. He sighed and got on his phone, dialing his brother. Mycroft picked up after the first ring. “How is it going?”

“Badly,” Sherlock said. “It appears as though it's Clement.”

“Damn,” Mycroft murmured. “Was Miss Jones much help?”

“Yes. And we're going to keep working on things, but it appears Kelly is going to get pulled into this whether we like it or not.” He was quiet. “You need to protect Annabelle and the girls here at the school.”

“Like the young girl who you befriended today?”

Sherlock scowled slightly. Mycroft would have his own surveillance at the school, he realized. Annabelle was John's family, after all. “Yes.”

“I do it to protect them,” Mycroft said after a moment. “When Moriarty had made his move John was worried he would go after his sister and stepsister, due to his own association with you. Even though you took the empire apart, there was still worry that someone might make a move. Since the school was special to Miss Fritton it was considered a possible target. I had a long talk with Camilla Fritton about it, and she agreed to my terms. I have every inch of that school under surveillance. And Miss Fritton has agreed to continue to allow that. But I promise, I will keep everyone there safe.”

“Thank you,” Sherlock said.

“By the way, Katarina Stevens is on our lists of potential hackers to recruit for work when she is older. We would very much appreciate it if you do not turn her into a consulting detective.”

“Why can't she do both?” Sherlock said. “They're both freelance positions, as I recall.”

Mycroft was quiet. “You're going to do it anyway, aren't you?” he said with a sigh.

“Yes, Mycroft, I think I am,” he said in a slightly smug tone.

“Then at least encourage her to stay involved with computers. She could be brilliant when she's old enough to be recruited.” He had a murmured conversation on his end, and Sherlock could barely make out the words. Then it ended. “Time is of the essence,” he said when he came back. “Whatever move he's planning to make will be coming soon.”

“Very well. We'll get back to work as soon as we've eaten.” His brother hung up first, and Sherlock leaned back in his seat. This was all more complicated than he would have liked, and there were too many variables, too many people who could get hurt. This was not the best of conditions to work under. He was still lost in thought when the door opened. He turned, expecting Kelly, when he saw Annabelle there. “I'm sorry,” he said quietly.

“For what?” she asked, coming in and sitting down in the chair Kelly had been in.

“For what I'm about to do to your life,” he said. “For having Kelly have to keep secrets from you.”

“This is MI-6 business, isn't it?” Annabelle asked. Sherlock nodded, and she sighed. “I'm used to her keeping secrets about that. There's this whole chunk of her life that she can't talk about.” She slumped down a bit more. “She's going to have to go back, isn't she?”

“Most likely,” he replied. “There is much at play right now.”

“How did you get roped into this? I mean, if you can tell me.”

“Mycroft wanted an outside man brought in, someone who couldn't be bought or bribed. There is a short list of men this applies to, but since Kelly is my friend he thought I would be best. And he's right, but I do not like any of this.”

“Is she going to be in danger?” Annabelle asked.

“Possibly. There will be more danger to you and the girls here, though. You are all Kelly's biggest weakness. Someone could attempt to use them against her, if I have to bring her in before all of this is finished.”

“We can take care of ourselves,” she said.

“Not against this threat. I know about the break-in when you were head girl. I know how easily Lord Pomfrey breached the school. This man will be able to do the same, and I do not think he will be appeased by getting something specific. He will want to prove he means business.” He looked at her intently. “He may go after you, or he may make his point by killing some of the girls.”

Annabelle looked down. “What should I do, Sherlock?” she asked quietly.

“For now, just wait. Kelly and I still have much to discuss and plans to make. If we are extremely lucky I can settle the matter before she needs to get involved, and then her absence will be temporary and there should be no danger to any of you.”

“And if there is danger?”

“Then you might want to consider closing the school for the time being,” Sherlock said.

She looked at him sharply. “Most of these girls parents don't want them around. If I send them all home who knows where they'll end up. I won't do it. I won't let these girls end up somewhere they aren't going to be cared for.”

“There may be no choice, Annabelle,” he said, staring at her intently. “If you truly want what is best for these girls you'll keep them out of harms way.”

She looked away, defeated. “Very well. I'll wait to see what happens.” She stood up. “When Kelly comes back tell her I've gone to bed, and to wake me before she goes to sleep tonight.”

He nodded. “I will. Once again, Annabelle, I am sorry.”

She nodded towards him. “I know you are, Sherlock.” And with that she turned away and left the room, leaving him to his thoughts once again.

Twenty minutes later Kelly came back with a tray holding two covered plates and a pot of coffee. “I think coffee is just what we need,” he said, standing up and moving the tea service out of the way so she could set the tray on the desk.

“Did Belle come in?” Kelly asked. Sherlock nodded, and she sighed. “She didn't take it well, did she?”

“No, she did not,” he replied. She set the tray down and he picked up utensils and one of the plates. When he took off the cover he saw what looked like a bowl of stew, some bread to dip into it and a side salad. The stew smelled very good and he realized it had been almost twelve hours since he'd had a meal. “I mentioned that she might have to close the school.”

“She wouldn't want to do that. That would be the last thing she'd want,” Kelly said, taking the other plate and sitting back down. “But if I get involved now that's pretty inevitable, isn't it?”

“It is.” He looked at here. “Let's eat and then try and figure out a way to keep you from getting involved until this is all over, all right?”

“All right,” she said with a nod. He really hated Mycroft for putting them both in this position, he thought to himself as they began to eat. But this was a matter of national security, and that trumped any personal opinions he might have on the matter. Things were going to change drastically before all of this was over, he knew that. He just hoped everyone was prepared.


	3. Chapter 3

He and Kelly stayed up late into the night, coming up with plans, and then contingency plans, and then contingency plans for the contingency plans, all based on the presumption that Clement was the problem with the organization. Sherlock had called Mycroft at one in the morning, not surprised to find his brother awake, to broach the idea that he be allowed into the organization as himself. Once he had explained the reasoning he and Kelly had come up with, about how it would put Clement on his guard and hopefully cause him to get sloppy knowing Mycroft Holmes’s pet bloodhound was nosing around, Mycroft said he would consider it. At that point, there was nothing more left to do, really, so Kelly took Sherlock to the spare room in the teacher’s dormitories to get some sleep if he was able.

Which, it turned out, he was not.

If he was in London he would have made his way out of Baker Street to go to Molly’s home. Since the revelation that she herself had been a student at this institution, and the encounter in her office that had led to an evening of him really getting to know her, learn more about her than the bits that he had allowed to permeate his mind palace, he had found himself...well, drawn to her. It defied explanation, he had found, but this side of herself that she was allowing him to see was tantalizing and he wanted to spend more time with her. He could see the smirks and hear the pointed questions from John but truthfully he didn’t care. His flatmate had Mary and that suited him well. If, perhaps, he wanted something similar with Molly, would it be such a bad thing?

The voice in his head chimed in that it would be _now_ , now that he was possibly about to join MI-6, even if it was temporarily, to flush out a traitor to the Crown. Beginning a romantic relationship with her would put a large target on her back and he refused to put her in that position.

But...he could call her tonight, run through some of the thoughts in his head with her. That would be fine, he supposed, even if she might be cross at the early hour.

He reached for his mobile and dialed her familiar number, hitting SEND and letting it ring. After three rings she picked up. “Sherlock?” she asked, her voice untinged by sleep.

“You were awake,” said quietly.

“I was out with friends,” she replied. “A friend of mine got engaged this morning and we went out to celebrate.”

“Oh,” he said.

“Are you back in London? I was thinking we could have lunch tomorrow.”

“No, I’m still at St. Trinian’s,” he replied. “Things are more complicated than I wanted them to be. I may need to be here till mid-afternoon. Possibly later. I’m not sure. But...perhaps dinner?”

“I can’t,” she said.

“A date?” he asked, a bit of hurt creeping into his voice despite himself.

“Oh no, I don’t...I don’t date. I took your advice, after Moriarty,” she said. “Not that there are any blokes who really give me a second glance. The only one who did while you were gone was a man named Tom but...it just didn’t work out.”

“Why not?” he asked curiously.

“I suppose he was simply a substitute,” she said quietly. “Everyone could see it but they didn’t say anything, and then when I realized it I knew it would be kinder to end things than to lead him on.”

He was quiet for a moment. “A substitute for me,” he said finally, his voice quiet.

“Yes,” she said softly. “But it’s all right, I know you don’t like me that way. I’ve accepted--”

“Would you like to go out to dinner with me as a date tomorrow night?” he asked before she finished her sentence. He heard her drop her phone on the other end as soon as he was done asking. “Molly?”

There was a pause, with rustling in the background as she picked up the phone, and then she spoke. “You actually fancy me?” she asked, her voice full of disbelief.

“It’s probably not the best idea, with everything I’ve come here to discuss with Kelly, but...yes, I do,” he said. “I would ask you to dinner tonight but tomorrow night I can plan something nice, something you deserve.”

“Oh. Um...yes. Yes, absolutely, Sherlock. I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow night.” There seemed to be a tightly controlled joy in her voice, as though as soon as she got off the phone she might start jumping up and down and throwing herself a celebration. He felt a small smile tug at his lips at that. “What time?”

“I’ll let you know when I’ve made arrangements,” he said. 

“All right,” she said. Then she paused for a moment. “You must have had another reason for calling, and I distracted you from it with all of the silly talk of my personal life. I’m so sorry. I can stay up and talk for a while. Tomorrow’s my day off, so I don’t have to get up for my post.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said. “If there’s things you need to run over in your head, I have all night to listen.”

“Thank you, Molly,” he said, settling in to get comfortable. He knew it had been a good idea to call her, and as he began going into as many specifics of the situation as he could and she listened, occasionally offering up commentary or advice, he felt himself relax. He knew embarking on more than a friendship with her would be a good thing. He just hoped doing it _now_ wasn’t a mistake.


	4. Chapter 4

He had kept Molly awake long into the night, not surprised when the conversation turned to personal matters, only letting her go when it was obvious the alcohol she had consumed during her evening’ festivities was beginning to cause her to tire, and then he found himself more easily able to sleep himself. Or at least he was able to until the sound of helicopter blades whirring woke him up. He knew what the First Years at this school were capable of and he knew there was only one person with reason to use a helicopter to approach on such short notice: his brother.

He dashed away the quilt and sheets and left the room without bothering with his suit jacket, only just barely managing to put on his shoes. If his brother was murdered by a bunch of delinquent girls his mother would disown him, which under most circumstances might please him, but as his brother offered protection to Annabelle and the girls here, he rather needed him alive at the moment. He dashed out of the teacher’s dmitory and say Kelly heading towards him as the helicopter got closer. “Can you handle the First Years?” he called over to her.

“We’re trying, but your brother may get a welcome similar to yours,” Kelly said, pulling her dressing gown tighter around her. “Annabelle’s trying to track down the twins to see if they can keep the glue and feathers from being used, at the very least.”

“Not that _I_ would mind,” Sherlock said.

“Nor would I,” she said with a small smirk. “He should know better than to show up unannounced. Not even _he_ would get by unscathed if he showed up without warning.” She tilted her head slightly as the helicopted circled, looking for a place to land. “Must be significant news for him to come so early in the morning in person with no warning though.”

“And most likely not pleasant,” Sherlock said.

“No, I wouldn’t expect it to be,” Kelly said with a small sigh. “Come on. We might as well make ourselves presentable. I have more to do for that than you do.”

He nodded. “You do what you need to do. I’ll go back to the room until I’m summoned.” She gave him a quick nod and they parted, and he went back to the teachers dormitories to ponder this change in the situation. _Something_ drastic must have happened for his brother to take a personal hand in matters, and whatever it was, Sherlock would wager it was not a good change in the situation. He knew he would find out precisely what that change was shortly, but he ran over all the possibilities in his head while he waited to be called into the inevitable meeting he knew would be had between himself, Kelly and Mycroft.

When he was finally brought into Annabelle’s office by a snickering older girl who Annabelle had said was one of the Geeks, he was not at all surprised to see Mycroft covered in bright splotches of paint. He had a hard set to his jaw as Kelly sat behind Annabelle’s desk, her lips twitching as she tried not to laugh. “This is not amusing, Ms. Jones,” he remarked.

“On the contrary, brother mine, it is,” Sherlock said. “You brought it on yourself, you know. Arriving at the school with no warning. If you’d given Annabelle and Kelly time to prepare, you would have arrived unscathed.”

“Yes, well, time is of the essence,” Mycroft remarked, moving to the mantle and turning his back on both of them. “Clement found out about the two of you meeting and the nature of this meeting, and has left the country.”

“What?” Kelly said, all traces of amusement leaving her face.

Mycroft nodded slowly, picking up a photograph of Kelly and Camilla that was in a silver frame. “Apparently people had surveillance on some people involved on our side of things. Sherlock, most likely, as trying to get surveillance here at the school would be tantamount to a suicide mission, and your girls would inform you immediately.”

“So they knew I came here to pay a visit to Kelly and Annabelle,” Sherlock said. “How did they know it wasn’t a social call? I’ve been acquainted with both women for some time now. Annabelle is John’s sister, after all.”

“I do not know, and that puzzles me.” Mycroft turned, and held out his hand. “I want to look at your mobile, Sherlock.”

Sherlock bristled momentarily at the invasion of his privacy, but then he pushed it aside because there was more at stake than a tiff with his brother. He pulled his mobile out of his pocket and handed it to his brother. His brother pocketed it and gave Sherlock a different mobile. “Don’t worry, your contacts are all there. I know who you talk to most.”

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. “Do you think you know me so well?” he said, pocketing the new mobile.

“Like the back of my hand,” Mycroft replied. Then he turned to Kelly. “I need to reenact your status as an MI-6 agent, effective immediately. We need to find Clement and bring him in immediately.”

“I can’t leave the school open to attack, sir,” Kelly said, her tone instantly businesslike.

“Then it needs to close,” Mycroft said.

“You know Annabelle won’t do that,” Sherlock said. “She won’t send these girls back to homes where they are going to be mistreated, or schools where they will be humiliated and degraded.”

“Then what do you propose, brother mine?” Mycroft asked.

He was quiet for a moment. “Do you still have need for me to join MI-6 to flush out the corrupt agent?” he asked.

Mycroft shook his head. “No. As Clement has made it abundently clear he was the one we needed to target, it’s now a manhunt. Ms. Jones’s skill set is useful enough for the time being.”

“Are there agents who could be pulled away from assignments with the skill sets needed to teach unruly students at this campus?” Sherlock asked.

Mycroft studied him. “I could be persuaded to remove a few from low level assignments,” he said. “But a favour like this would cost you both.”

“It will cost _me_ ,” Sherlock said when Kelly opened her mouth, her eyes wide. “As will the addendum that Kelly’s reinstatement is temporary and when Clement is captured and brought back into custody, her retirement is reinstated. Understood?”

Mycroft eyed his brother. “Be careful what you bargain for, brother mine,” he said slowly.

“I understand full well what I’m bargaining for,” Sherlock said. “My life in endendured servitude to you for eternity. But that is what is needed. Now. Deal or no deal?”

Mycroft turned and put the photograph back on the mantle, and then came over and extended his hand to Sherlock. “Deal.”

Sherlock shook his hand, and Mycroft turned and left the office. After a moment the door opened again and Annabelle came inside. “Well?”

“I have to go back to MI-6, love,” Kelly said, her eyes not leaving Sherlock’s face as they narrowed. “And _somebody_ damn near bargained their soul to the devil to make sure you didn’t have to close the school.”

“What?” Annabelle asked.

“Sherlock Holmes, you collossal _idiot_!” Kelly said, moving around from the desk and moving in front of him. “I could have handled going back to MI-6 full time if I’d had to! I could have bargained for the agents if need be! You utter moron, do you know what your brother’s going to make you do now that he practically _owns_ you?”

“Yes. I’ll have to work every insipid case he wants me to. I’ll have to be at his beck and call. I’ll have to leave the country at a moment’s notice and go off and serve Queen and country for him while you and Annabelle stay here and be happy and turn this school into something worthwhile,” he said, sounding tired.

Kelly blinked. “Sherlock...”

“I knew what I was doing,” he said. “I may still have moments to myself. He may not be a complete and total arse. But you two are my friends. There is a chance you can do something with St. Trinian’s that Camilla Fritton had only hoped to accomplish, and I will not let my brother or some MI-6 upstart or anyone else ruin that. So while you go off and bring that traitor back to face what he’s done, I will stay here and help keep Annabelle and the girls safe, and then you will have your work cut out for you afterward, but it will still be here for you when you return.”

“God, you’re an idiot,” Kelly said, reaching forward to embrace him. “The biggest idiot on the face of the earth. No wonder John adores you so much.” After a moment Sherlock embraced her back, a bit awkwardly, and then Annabelle embraced them both. They stood there for a moment and Sherlock felt himself settle. Yes, he _had_ practically sold himself into slavery to his brother, but he couldn’t think of a better reason to. Somehow, Annabelle and Kelly had become just as important to him as John and Molly and the others he considered friends. He would do anything for them, just as he would for the others he cared for. And in point of fact, he had.


	5. Chapter 5

He met with the twins to get the lay of the land a bit, and then took what he was told would be an uninterrupted stroll in the woods. Once word got out that not only would he be staying, he would be teaching, the students interest in him seemed to pique. He wasn’t an accredited teacher, but Mycroft said he could fix that easily enough. Another favour he would owe, he was sure.

When he was sure he had privacy, he pulled his new mobile out and turned it on. It was almost a carbon copy of his old one, down to having all the same apps and nearly all the same data, just not the old text messages and notes on it. And, as Mycroft had said, it had all his contacts on it. He pulled up the one for Molly and hit SEND. It was not a call he particularly _wanted_ to make, but he knew he had to. She had every right to know he would not be going back to London for some time.

She picked up after two rings. “Hello?” she asked.

“Molly,” he said quietly.

“Sherlock?” she asked. “What happened to your other phone?”

“My brother confiscated it on a matter of national security,” he replied. “This is a more secure phone. I will be using it for the time being.” He hesitated for a moment. “I have something of importance to tell you. I won’t be in London for the time being.”

“Oh, that’s all right,” she said brightly. “We can have a meal together whenever it is you come back. I don’t mind waiting.”

He ran a hand through his curls as he held back a sigh. Oh, he was bollocksing this up. “I don’t think I’m relaying the full import of this. Something has...happened. I don’t know when I’ll be returning to London. It may be a few weeks, it may be...months. It could be considerably longer.”

“Oh,” she said quietly. “Something witht hat thing you were hedging about last night?”

“Yes,” he said, beginning to pace. “My brother swanned in in a helicopter and informed Kelly and I that the situation had changed and as such my presence is required at the school for the foreseeable future. So...I will be staying, even through the summer term, to make sure the school stays safe.”

“Well, I see,” she said. “Then I’ll just have to come to you.”

He stopped dead in his tracks. “What?” he asked, surprised.

“Sherlock, it’s not as though it’s the old ages where everyone travels by horse and buggy. There are rail lines and I _do_ have a car. And besides, Katarina is there. I have a reason to come to the school. If I also decide to see you and share a meal away from the school, that’s not so bad, is it? I mean, you aren’t going to be the _only_ one there keeping things safe, are you?”

“No,” he said slowly.

“Then we can go out the the nearby village and have a date,” she replied. “And the girls there might spy on us only a little if we were to stargaze on the roof or something. We can make you not being in London work, you know.”

He was absolutely gobsmacked at that. “We haven’t even had one date.”

“Then you’ll just have to make the first one as spectacular as possible in the confines of the surrounding village,” she said. “Perhaps this weekend? I’ll see what I can do to arrange the time off at short notice, and find a place to stay up there.”

“You don’t have to, Molly,” he said.

“But I _want_ to,” she said. “I do. I mean, the thought you fancy me has made me absolutely giddy. Did you know I woke up with a huge smile on my face at the thought we could possibly go out on a date tonight? So I’ll be damned if I’ll let this...this change in whatever plans your brother made bollocks that up.”

He felt his heart sink slightly at that. “About my brother...” he said.

“Yes?”

“I may have made a deal that I would essentially be at his beck and call to arrange for the protection needed to allow Annabelle to keep the school open, and to allow Kelly to retire again when this is all over,” he said quietly.

She was silent for a few moments. “Well, if you think that him running roughshod over your life will deter me, you clearly do not know me as well as you think,” she said after a moment, and he felt the beginnings of a smile come to the edges of his lips. “Sherlock, I have fancied you for more years than I care to remember, and now that you _finally_ see me in the same light I am not going to let that go. We will make things work, if that’s what you want, for as long as we both want to try. When we decide it’s too much work or we no longer care for each other in a more than friendly way, we’ll reevaluate. But until then, we’ll take each day as it comes. Okay?”

He nodded even though she wasn’t around to see it. “Okay,” he replied.

“Good. Then when I’ve got my schedule sorted, I’ll let you know when I can arrive and we’ll see what we can do. Until then, try and call me tonight. I like talking to you.”

“I like talking to you, too,” he said. “Goodbye, Molly.”

“Bye, Sherlock,” she said, and she hung up.

He lowered the phone as he heard a rustling among the leaves. His body went on alert until he saw that it was Katarina. “I thought I would see you sooner rather than later,” he said, his smile still on his face. 

“Miss Jones says she needs to talk to you,” he said. “Before she has to leave.”

Sherlock nodded, stowing his mobile in his pocket. “Then perhaps you can take me to her, then.”

“Sure,” Katarina replied. The two began to head back to the school. “So, are you really going to stay?”

“I am,” he said with another nod. “I suppose I’ll get to show you more than the cell phone hacking trick at this rate, which I’ll show you when I’m done talking to Miss Jones.”

“You promise?” she asked.

“I do,” he said. “And I can also tell you that I think you will be seeing more of Dr. Hooper in the future.”

Her smile widened. “Wicked! I like her. She’s nice, and she has all sorts of interesting stories. Plus she helps me with all sorts of cool science things.”

“So you like science?” he asked.

She nodded. “Just as much as I like computers.”

“Then while I’m here, I’ll help you with chemistry and different biology things that Dr. Hooper does not, and perhaps physics as well,” he said. "And even when I no longer teach here, whatever it is that I have shown you that has sparked your interest, I promise I will come often and continue to teach you about.” He stopped and held out his hand to her. “Deal?”

She stopped as well, and shook his hand vigorously. “Deal!” she said. He grinned down at her, the first full grin he had worn all day. Whatever promises he had made to his brother aside, he would do his best not to break his promise to this girl. She deserved to get the best education in the sciences he could give her, and that was what she could get, servitude to his brother be damned.


	6. Chapter 6

By the end of the day, he had arranged for his things to be brought by John to the school. Not everything. He felt that, considering the attitude of the school, it would be better if his best clothing remained in London, so John was going to purchase some more casual clothing for him with help from Molly and Mary. Mary, who had been with him at the time, had quipped that he would have a gaggle of schoolgirls fancying him by the end of term, but that was indeed a complication he did not need, nor did he want. He had used the internet function on his phone to make a post on his blog that, for the time being, he would not be doing consulting detective work and he knew John would make a similar post on his blog, and he had called Lestrade to deliver the news in person, as best as he was able.

He joined Annabelle for tea and supper in her office, a place he was growing most familiar with, and a place he had the feeling he would become quite familiar with as days and weeks pressed on. Kelly had already left for London and there was an air of sadness about Annabelle, as though she had lost her best friend. She probably had, in point of fact. Sherlock knew the relationship between the two women was more than that of just two lovers; it had grown from friendship and was deeply rooted in that fact, and as such there was a strength to it that he envied. Perhaps if something came out of his own endeavours with Molly, their relationship would have such strength in time.

“She will be fine, you know,” he said, picking up his saucer and cup of tea to take a sip. “Before I knew who she was exactly, my brother used to talk about ‘the vexing Agent Jones’ quite frequently. I think he tried very hard to make sure our paths never crossed professionally so we couldn’t collude to make his day more miserable.”

A small smile crossed Annabelle’s lips and she relaxed. “She mentioned something about a clearance level going up.”

Sherlock nodded. “Everyone associated with me has a clearance level of some sort as to what level of confidential government information they’re privy too. People like your brother have levels that are quite high due to rather close associations with me. Kelly and I have been able to have interesting conversations about the government because even though she has been retired, Mycroft made sure her clearance was never rescinded, in case the two of you became associated with me, through your relationship with John. Your level was moderately high before this incident, as you had government protection after the Moriarty affair, but not high enough you could know particulars about your detail or Kelly’s past missions or things John and I are privy to. That has changed. You have the same level as Kelly and I do, since you need to be able to discuss any and all matters with the agents who will be teaching on site.”

“When will they be arriving?” Annabelle asked.

“We are on our own for the weekend, and then they will arrive Monday. Kelly had a list of names she submitted of agents she felt would be suitable to fit among the staff. All women and, she told me, all alumni. Including someone you should know well. A Polly Williams?”

Annabelle’s smile grew wider. “Polly went to MI-6? Seriously?”

Sherlock nodded. “Freelancer for a start, but the agency was impressed and Kelly was asked to recruit her. Kelly said she was looking for a way out now, and she’d welcome the chance to come back to her alma mater. I _may_ try and work out a way to get her back to freelancer status when Kelly’s assignment is over.”

Her smile vanished, to be replaced by a frown. “Sherlock, don’t do any more to tack on promises to your ogre of a brother. Not for me or Kelly or our friends.”

“I’ve procured Polly’s services in the past, when I was bringing down Moriarty’s network,” he said, waving his hand. “It’s a debt I feel I owe to her.” He set his cup in his saucer and put it on her desk. “So far you will have, aside from Polly teaching computer technology, a new English language teacher, three foreign language teachers capable of teaching French, Spanish and Italian, two maths teachers, a geography teacher and myself, who can cover chemistry, biology and physics as well as help you with administrave duties. You may give these girls a half decent education for at least half the year.”

“If they choose to learn,” Annabelle said.

“All these women are alumni,” Sherlock said. “They’ll know how to get to the girls. The girls may not have the type of education you’d find at Camford or schools that you attended before you came here, but they will get an education. You’ll ensure that. And you’ll start to change things so the education they get is somewhat in tune with what they would receive at a proper school. And who knows? Perhaps some of these students will turn around and decide after their time in uni to come back and try and wrangle another generation of girls here.”

“One can only hope,” Annabelle said, a small smile returning to her lips. She picked up her own tea and had a sip. “A new topic. Rumour has it you had a rather interesting conversation today with one of our alumni.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “I thought I had privacy,” he said flatly.

“You should know by now the woods have many sets of eyes and ears,” she said with a grin. “You and Molly. I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Yes, well, it isn’t actually a _thing_ yet, as I’m sure your spies have told you,” she said, looking down. “I was cancelling our date.”

“And she wasn’t letting you,” Annabelle said, her grin turning into a smirk. “So I’m assmuing we’ll see a lot more of _Dr. Hooper_ during your tenure as a teacher here?”

“Most likely,” he said, mumbling a bit.

“Good. Then she can spy on my brother for me.” Annabelle was quiet for a moment. “Sherlock, honestly, I’m happy for you. Molly’s wonderful, she really is, and if you like her that’s a good thing. She’ll be good for you, I promise. And I think you’ll be good for her, too.”

“How could you possibly know that?” he asked, lifting his head up.

“Because I do,” she said. “Because of what you did today. Because _that’s_ why you’re my brother’s best mate.” Her smile widened. “Next time you talk to her, tell her she’s welcome as often as she wants to come up and we’ll always make sure the First Years leave her alone and if she comes over on, say, a Friday, that your weekend is miraculously clear until Sunday night. Or maybe even Monday morning.”

He shook his head. “We haven’t even been on one date, Annabelle.”

“Well, maybe things will move quickly. Who knows? _I_ don’t, and neither do you.” She had some more of her tea at that. “Now then. I tthink we need to find you some new clothing to change into because two days in the same suit and it’s beginning to look a bit rumpled. Let’s dig through Geoffrey’s things when we’re done with tea, shall we?”

Sherlock nodded and then picked up his cup and saucer again, having more of his own tea. His life had been completely flipped upside down, but so had everyone else’s, for the most part. Now all that was left to do was soldier on and make the best of it for however long it took.


End file.
